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juvenile merit. The figures represent the authority of idealized forms. The books represent the construction of a discourse that is characterized by errors in language. I am interested in the book as an authoritative object. Miniature books placed in the hands of trophy figures questions our knowledge of scale and exaggerate the significance of the sentiment of the souvenir.

‘Illuminations‘, ( Image 2 ) are found letters, digitally manipulated to resemble illuminated letters from the 16th century. They are printed out on a cotton paper and then gold leaf is applied to sections of the letter. The text of one letter is written by a high school girl who is board in study hall and is expressing her love and lust for her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then writes a rap song to her in response. All these pieces have been influenced by my work as a rare book photographer for the Newberry Library and the Adler Planetarium. – ‘Infestations’ ( image 3 ) is a series of 12 color 11×14 photographs where the photograph acts as evidence to different kinds of damage to books either made by man or by insect. Sometimes reading a damaged manuscript can contain more information about it's history then a well preserved one. Damage can help establish date or province. Books with all their vicissitudes are like bodies and contain the evidence of its use. All my work blurs the boundaries between authentic objects found and objects that has the appearance of authenticity but have been manipulated. The combining and unbinding of text and image has put me in a place where I have to separate what is meant from what is said, and what is said from what is implied and what is

implied from what is revealed. Read between the lines – place my language and images there.

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Catherine Gass received her MFA in photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she currently teaches in the photography department. She is also the photographer for The Newberry Library and Rare Book Photographer for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL. Her work has been previously show in New York at the Organization for Independent Artists, Kaufman Arcade, Minneapolis: at Open Book, in Chicago at the Noyes Cultural Center, Artemsia, Randolph Street Gallery and elsewhere.